Implantable medical devices that produce stimulation signals and/or that sense physiological signals utilize implantable medical leads to carry electrical signals. The implantable medical leads include electrodes on a distal end that interface with the bodily tissue. Electrical conductors within the medical lead electrically connect the electrodes on the distal end with electrical contacts on the proximal end that engage electrical connectors of the medical device.
The medical lead is implanted within the body with the distal end being routed to the appropriate site to stimulate and/or sense. The proximal end of the lead remains nearby the incision site where the medical device is also implanted and sutured to tissue. To ensure that the lead is also held in place, an anchor is installed on the lead, and the anchor is then sutured to tissue.
Conventionally, anchors were designed to slide over the lead body and then be held tightly to the lead body by the suture. This conventional approach relied on the pressure from the suture to prevent movement of the anchor along the lead body which could be subject to reliability issues due to inadequate suturing and/or the inability of the anchor to grip the lead body even when sutured tightly.
Other conventional anchors provide a rigid but deflectable insert within an elastic body where the insert makes direct contact with the lead rather than the anchor body. Suturing the anchor causes the deflectable insert to deflect against the lead body and provide additional grip against the lead body. The insert includes partial length slots that allow for the deflection. While this approach may grip the lead better than conventional anchors that lack the insert, this approach may be vulnerable to inadequate suturing and also requires that a free end of the lead be available to remove the anchor upon removing the suturing.